TorrentFreak reports that DNS4EU, an EU-funded DNS service positioned as a privacy-first European alternative to non-EU resolvers, showed interest in pirate-site blocklists—specifically the Dutch blocklist maintained by BREIN.

According to BREIN’s annual reporting, the organization shares its up-to-date lists of blocked sites with DNS4EU so the resolver could block illegal content more effectively. BREIN frames the arrangement as a practical advantage: its blocklist is already used for site blocking efforts and can be provided to a DNS provider for improved enforcement.

DNS4EU, however, did not end up applying the pirate-site list. TorrentFreak testing reportedly found that domains associated with piracy enforcement—called out in the blocklist context, including The Pirate Bay—were still reachable through DNS4EU from the Netherlands.

When TorrentFreak reached out to DNS4EU’s operator, Whalebone, the operator reportedly pointed to DNS4EU’s published resolver policy: it commits not to block DNS resolution except when required by law, enforceable court decisions, or by other government authority or elected user direction. TorrentFreak adds that the Dutch blocklist basis is described as civil court orders against ISPs rather than against DNS4EU—meaning DNS4EU was not legally compelled to act on the BREIN list.

In response to TorrentFreak’s questions, Whalebone reportedly stated that it later determined BREIN is not a government regulatory body, and therefore there was “no reason to proceed” with implementing the blocking list; the data “has not been used in any way.”

TorrentFreak’s reporting also connects this to a broader French context where courts have ordered DNS-related blocking measures for piracy. It notes that DNS filtering can be implemented at the resolver layer, but in this case, DNS4EU’s described behavior suggests it did not carry out voluntary pirate-site blocking based on the shared BREIN information.